Araaa Aquarian
An Individual’s Path to Meaning and Happiness
“Life is really very beautiful, it is not this ugly thing that we have made of it; and you can appreciate its richness, its depth, its extraordinary loveliness only when you revolt against everything—against organized religion, against tradition, against the present rotten society—so that you as a human being find out for yourself what is true. Not to imitate but to discover.”(Krishnamurti, 3)
Happiness and meaning are different for everyone. Most blindly follow society and allow others to find and define meaning and happiness for us. However, if we want to be true to ourselves, we cannot allow this. We have to define happiness and meaning for ourselves even if it means that we are different. The Stranger, by Albert Camus, shows an example of an individual defining meaning for himself. It tells the life story of a man named Mersault. Throughout the book Mersault sort of watches his life pass by instead of living it. He is an expressionless, un-happy, feeling-less character that doesn’t have much meaning in his life. However, in the end of the book, he is able to find meaning for himself by accepting his inescapable death. This book shows us that some individuals strive to find and define meaning for themselves while others believe that there is no meaning to life and instead, follow society as if they were robots. Society tends to influence our definitions of happiness and meaning. Society judges our values and questions our views and beliefs. In the short story, “Franny” by JD Salinger, it tells the story of a young college girl who goes out to dinner with her boyfriend Lane and ends up expressing a number of different realizations she has had. She begins to realize her thoughts on conformity, ego, and meaning. In both “Franny” and The Stranger, Camus and Salinger suggest that instead of blindly following society, we should escape conformity in order to find not only ourselves but also to find individual meaning and happiness.
Throughout Salinger’s short story, “Franny”, Salinger seems to be expressing his disgust with conformity and the superficiality of American society, which he shows through Franny’s critique of the “Wally Campbell’s of the world”.
“Listen, don’t hate me because I can’t remember some person immediately. Especially when they look like everybody else, and talk and dress and act like everybody else…. I don’t mean there’s anything horrible about him or anything like that. It’s just that for four solid years I’ve kept seeing Wally Campbell’s wherever I go.” (30)
Within this passage, Franny expresses her annoyance with the fact that society is shallow and the fact that almost she and everyone around her conform to society. In this period of her life, Franny realizes that she needs to find and define happiness and meaning for herself and that she needs to break away from conformity. More importantly, she learns that happiness and meaning should not be defined by society but by the individual.
Throughout almost all of his life, Mersault was alienated from himself. He was merely a passive observer in his own life. He did not form opinions or ideas for himself, he did not make a stand for what he thought was right or wrong but rather went along with what people expected him to think, do, or say. For example, there is a scene where Mersault and his “friend” Raymond are having a conversation about Raymond’s mistress. Raymond believes that his mistress is cheating on him and he wants to punish her. He goes on to talk about different ways in which he could punish her ranging from setting her up to look like a prostitute to beating her. In the end, Raymond decides that he will beat some sense into her and asks Mersault what he thinks about his plan. “I don’t think anything but that it is interesting,” states Mersault. Mersault does not care to stand up for right and wrong but instead says what he thinks Raymond wants to hear. Camus does a good job of showing a bit of alienation and conformity through this scene.
Camus also shows us that through the absurdity of life, you have to find and create meaning and happiness for yourself. He shows us that you have to break away from the crowd in order to be true to yourself and in order to identify yourself on your own terms. This is shown within the last few pages of the book. In these last few pages of the book, Mersault is charged guilty for murdering another man and is sentenced to death. While he sits in his jail cell waiting for the sentence to be carried out, the chaplain visits him and tries to convince him to put his faith into god so that he can be saved from his immediate death. “…I wasn’t desperate. I was just afraid, which was only normal”, Mersault explained. “Then god can help you…Every man I have known in your position has turned to Him.” said the chaplain. The chaplain tries to convince Mersault to put his faith into god but by doing this, Mersault would be conforming instead of being true to himself. In the very last passage of the book, it shows Mersault breaking away from conformity.
“As if that blind rage had washed me clean, rid me of hope; for the first time, in that night alive with signs and stars. I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world. Finding it so much like myself -- so like a brother really-- I felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again. For everything to be consummated for me to feel less alone, I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate.” (123)
This passage shows Mersault breaking away from both social norms and conformity. It shows how he accepts what he has done and who he is. Mersault accepts the absurd and defines himself. By doing this, he is no longer alienated nor is he a passive observer blending in with the crowd. Most importantly, he has found himself and has found happiness by accepting his fate.
Both “The Stranger” and “Franny” has shown us that no one can define meaning and happiness for someone else nor should society have the power to define it for an individual. Each individual must search for his or her own unique definition of happiness and meaning. These definitions may be shaped from life experiences, travel, school, friends and family, anything or everything that has an effect on the individual in either a positive or negative way. While searching for our own meaning and happiness, we have to live and be happy in order to fully and truly define them for ourselves as shown in the following quote. “You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life” – Albert Camus
Sources:
Krishnamurti, J. Think on These Things. New York: Harper & Row, 1964. Print.
Camus, Albert, and Matthew Ward. The Stranger. New York: Vintage International, 1989. Print.
Salinger, J.D. "Franny." The New Yorker, 29 Jan. 1955. Web.
An Individual’s Path to Meaning and Happiness
“Life is really very beautiful, it is not this ugly thing that we have made of it; and you can appreciate its richness, its depth, its extraordinary loveliness only when you revolt against everything—against organized religion, against tradition, against the present rotten society—so that you as a human being find out for yourself what is true. Not to imitate but to discover.”(Krishnamurti, 3)
Happiness and meaning are different for everyone. Most blindly follow society and allow others to find and define meaning and happiness for us. However, if we want to be true to ourselves, we cannot allow this. We have to define happiness and meaning for ourselves even if it means that we are different. The Stranger, by Albert Camus, shows an example of an individual defining meaning for himself. It tells the life story of a man named Mersault. Throughout the book Mersault sort of watches his life pass by instead of living it. He is an expressionless, un-happy, feeling-less character that doesn’t have much meaning in his life. However, in the end of the book, he is able to find meaning for himself by accepting his inescapable death. This book shows us that some individuals strive to find and define meaning for themselves while others believe that there is no meaning to life and instead, follow society as if they were robots. Society tends to influence our definitions of happiness and meaning. Society judges our values and questions our views and beliefs. In the short story, “Franny” by JD Salinger, it tells the story of a young college girl who goes out to dinner with her boyfriend Lane and ends up expressing a number of different realizations she has had. She begins to realize her thoughts on conformity, ego, and meaning. In both “Franny” and The Stranger, Camus and Salinger suggest that instead of blindly following society, we should escape conformity in order to find not only ourselves but also to find individual meaning and happiness.
Throughout Salinger’s short story, “Franny”, Salinger seems to be expressing his disgust with conformity and the superficiality of American society, which he shows through Franny’s critique of the “Wally Campbell’s of the world”.
“Listen, don’t hate me because I can’t remember some person immediately. Especially when they look like everybody else, and talk and dress and act like everybody else…. I don’t mean there’s anything horrible about him or anything like that. It’s just that for four solid years I’ve kept seeing Wally Campbell’s wherever I go.” (30)
Within this passage, Franny expresses her annoyance with the fact that society is shallow and the fact that almost she and everyone around her conform to society. In this period of her life, Franny realizes that she needs to find and define happiness and meaning for herself and that she needs to break away from conformity. More importantly, she learns that happiness and meaning should not be defined by society but by the individual.
Throughout almost all of his life, Mersault was alienated from himself. He was merely a passive observer in his own life. He did not form opinions or ideas for himself, he did not make a stand for what he thought was right or wrong but rather went along with what people expected him to think, do, or say. For example, there is a scene where Mersault and his “friend” Raymond are having a conversation about Raymond’s mistress. Raymond believes that his mistress is cheating on him and he wants to punish her. He goes on to talk about different ways in which he could punish her ranging from setting her up to look like a prostitute to beating her. In the end, Raymond decides that he will beat some sense into her and asks Mersault what he thinks about his plan. “I don’t think anything but that it is interesting,” states Mersault. Mersault does not care to stand up for right and wrong but instead says what he thinks Raymond wants to hear. Camus does a good job of showing a bit of alienation and conformity through this scene.
Camus also shows us that through the absurdity of life, you have to find and create meaning and happiness for yourself. He shows us that you have to break away from the crowd in order to be true to yourself and in order to identify yourself on your own terms. This is shown within the last few pages of the book. In these last few pages of the book, Mersault is charged guilty for murdering another man and is sentenced to death. While he sits in his jail cell waiting for the sentence to be carried out, the chaplain visits him and tries to convince him to put his faith into god so that he can be saved from his immediate death. “…I wasn’t desperate. I was just afraid, which was only normal”, Mersault explained. “Then god can help you…Every man I have known in your position has turned to Him.” said the chaplain. The chaplain tries to convince Mersault to put his faith into god but by doing this, Mersault would be conforming instead of being true to himself. In the very last passage of the book, it shows Mersault breaking away from conformity.
“As if that blind rage had washed me clean, rid me of hope; for the first time, in that night alive with signs and stars. I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world. Finding it so much like myself -- so like a brother really-- I felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again. For everything to be consummated for me to feel less alone, I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate.” (123)
This passage shows Mersault breaking away from both social norms and conformity. It shows how he accepts what he has done and who he is. Mersault accepts the absurd and defines himself. By doing this, he is no longer alienated nor is he a passive observer blending in with the crowd. Most importantly, he has found himself and has found happiness by accepting his fate.
Both “The Stranger” and “Franny” has shown us that no one can define meaning and happiness for someone else nor should society have the power to define it for an individual. Each individual must search for his or her own unique definition of happiness and meaning. These definitions may be shaped from life experiences, travel, school, friends and family, anything or everything that has an effect on the individual in either a positive or negative way. While searching for our own meaning and happiness, we have to live and be happy in order to fully and truly define them for ourselves as shown in the following quote. “You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life” – Albert Camus
Sources:
Krishnamurti, J. Think on These Things. New York: Harper & Row, 1964. Print.
Camus, Albert, and Matthew Ward. The Stranger. New York: Vintage International, 1989. Print.
Salinger, J.D. "Franny." The New Yorker, 29 Jan. 1955. Web.